


Even Though I Can’t Stand You

by 3ss3nc3



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Ben Solo Has Issues, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Ben Solo is Not Nice, Ben Solo is a Mess, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, F/M, Family Dynamics, Princess Rey (Star Wars), Rey Needs A Hug, Rey is a Palpatine sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:48:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23851834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/3ss3nc3/pseuds/3ss3nc3
Summary: Rey is the daughter of Emperor Sheev, a princess of her own right. Ben is the arrogant son of wealthy nobles, and Rey’s parents are considering arranging a marriage between them, to Rey’s horror. But when Ben goes missing, Rey decides she must find him, to prove she isn’t a shallow little princess. She never expected what the journey ahead would throw at her—or whom.
Relationships: Leia Organa/Han Solo, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Sheev Palpatine/Admiral Holdo
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!  
> Welcome to a sort of medieval Rey/Ben story.  
> It’s only my second Reylo fic, so be nice. My first one, A Solo Family Reunion, is finished now so if you haven’t read it please go check it out.
> 
> Enjoy!

Once upon a long time, in a place far, far away, there was a land a bit different from our modern world.  
  
There were emperors and empresses, lords and ladies, merchants, farmers, and stable boys, a whole medieval hierarchy.

The ruler of this land, called Exegol, was a thin, stern man called Emperor Sheev, and it was well known that he was fond of ridiculing his subjects. Legends boast of his elaborate torture chambers below his palace’s walls. At a young age, the Emperor partook of a marriage of convenience with the daughter of his kingdom’s best trade partner, the land of Naboo. 

The girl’s name was Amilyn. She was obedient, yet intelligent, and Sheev grew to tolerate her. Contrary to her husband, the empress was quite merciful. In fact, in all their dealings, the empress was favored and asked for during negotiations to calm the waters.  
  
The two had one child, a reclusive and rebellious girl named Rey. Children in that time were disciplined severely and told to obey their parents, and while Princess Rey mostly listened to what her parents told her, she was rebellious at heart and hated the pomp and ceremony of the court.

Rather than dressing herself in elaborate gowns and parading herself in front of courtiers all day, Rey wore dark-colored belted tunics and fitted trousers. She shod her feet in soft-soled, comfortable hunting boots that allowed her to hike comfortably in the wood outside the palace. Rey’s mother thought it improper for her daughter to shirk her duties, especially as the heir to the throne of Exegol, especially at Rey’s age—nineteen, an adult who should know better.  
The royal family ruled from a majestic yet daunting palace Emperor Sheev christened The Hall of the Sith. Rey thought it a bit dramatic, and Empress Amilyn tended to agree.  
The village in the palace’s shadow was grungy and racked with poverty. The villagers within struggled to survive from dusk to dawn each day, striving their best to keep to themselves and obey their master. The more fortunate villagers who ran the taverns and little shops usually went to bed each night with something in their bellies, but the people of Exegol as a whole were nearly taxed into the streets. So, when a traveling holy man and his acolyte arrived in Exegol, speaking against the Emperor and his rule, the villagers were too fearful to pay them any heed. There was no telling what would happen to anyone who joined in rebelling against their lord.

The villagers did, however, manage to mutter uncomplimentary remarks to the holy man and his assistant as they went by. Some went so far as to pelt the duo with food so rotten they couldn’t eat it, all in the name of their emperor.

If you listened to the holy man speak in the streets, you would find that his name was Snoke. His acolyte, who followed him everywhere with a reverence and submission that was quite pitiful was called Hux. The two stayed for only a few days in Exegol, for fear of the emperor catching wind of their rebellious words. Before the week’s end, Snoke and Hux moved on. Unbeknownst to the villagers, they had a passenger.  
*************************************

“Mother, is there any particular reason why I must to sit next to Sir Ben at dinner?” Princess Rey asked her mother.  
As an adult in her own right, Rey didn’t know why she was still ordered about like a child.  
  
Empress Amilyn, who had been trying to replace her daughter’s wardrobe with more tasteful garments, put down a gaudy pink gown and sighed. She laid the dress down carefully.  
  
“Lord Solo and Lady Organa are some of your father’s most wealthy subsidiaries, as you know. Their son is of age, and they were hoping…for a match.” Amilyn wouldn’t look at her daughter, who was slouched in a chair reading, knowing that Rey’s face was contorting into a scowl.

“Absolutely not. From what I’ve heard, Ben is a stuck-up brat who tortures animals for fun, and I will not be just…given to him like a new stallion!” Rey seethed.  
  
Empress Amilyn finally decided to give up on the dresses. She gestured for her attendants to carry them back to her chambers.

Princess Rey tried hard not to act like a petulant child and storm out of her own room.

“I understand your reticence. But arranged marriage worked well for me, and please try to comprehend that you will be doing Exegol a courtesy. We will be stronger, Rey, if we are united. The Organa-Solos are wealthy indeed, and Ben will inherit their fortune. Exegol is in debt, and your father is old. We need this, dear. You need this.” Amilyn walked over to her daughter, who had put down the book and was staring at the ground.

“Yes, mother,” Rey finally said, looking at Amilyn with fire in her eyes, “but you never asked me what I wanted. I would be happy to help Exegol, but there must be some other way. How would you feel if instead of being given to father, the Emperor, you were given to an underling who you had never met?”

Empress Amilyn sat on Rey’s bed and plucked aimlessly at the blankets. “Rey, dear, Lord and Lady Organa-Solo are good friends and loyal subjects. They are entitled to an audience, and we will hear them.”

Rey sighed, determined not to go along. “I’m wearing my trousers,” she said.

Amilyn tightened her grip on the blankets and felt the delicate trim tear under her tensed fingers.  
“Rey! This is a formal occasion!”

Rey decided this was as ample a time to leave as any. On her way out, she called over her shoulder, “I’ll get one of the seamstresses to make me a nice silk tunic.”

*************************************

“Hey, do you like hunting?” Rey interrupted Ben as the young noble was attempting to regale her yet again with a description of his prowess in combat.

“...I actually felt his bones break under my sword. There was blood everywhere,” Ben chuckled darkly. “What did you say? Hunt? Like, for food? Sure, if you like sitting on your ass all day waiting for some meat on legs to wander by. No, I let the men-at-arms do that.” He looked at her in faux seriousness. “You do have underlings, don’t you?” Ben smirked.

Rey blushed, irritated. It had been a shot in the dark, one of many that evening. As much as she hated it, Rey had tried to see things from her mother’s perspective and give Ben the benefit of the doubt, just in case he didn’t turn out to be the sadistic asshole she’d heard him to be. While the sadism appeared exaggerated, the asshole factor wasn’t nearly exaggerated enough. Ben was a piece of work, one Rey couldn’t wait to be rid of. 

“Yes, yes, of course, we have underlings,” she responded. “who else do you think you are?” Rey couldn’t help the bite; he’d pushed her far enough already.

Ben glowered at her. “An equal,” he said loftily.

Rey scoffed at this. “Sure you are. You’re as equal as the orphan that cleans the shit pots.”

Rey felt a large hand grab her arm.  
“Is that so? Then why are your parents going to give you to me like a whore for my parent’s money?” Ben said evilly.

Rey yanked her arm from his hand, her face aflame with anger. She stood from the bench they were sitting on, too furious to say another word.  
It was growing dark, and Empress Amilyn had insisted on Rey and Ben talking outdoors, alone.  
Rey wished she had brought her hunting knife.  
Finally, Rey was able to summon enough icy formality to tell Ben off with.

“I am terribly sorry, Lord Ben, but I’m afraid I am most fatigued by the day’s momentous events,” Rey articulated, with a hint of sarcasm. “I bid you goodnight.”

She walked swiftly off, not bothering to look back.

Ben smirked his infuriating smirk. “Enjoy that freedom while you can, Princess,” he called after her.

Ben was so caught up in imagining Rey underneath him, writhing at his touch all night, that he didn’t notice the dark figure moving quietly behind him.  
Nor did Ben make a sound when he was knocked unconscious and dragged away.

*************************************

The next day, the village was teeming with anxiety. A high-ranking noble had been kidnapped.  
The villagers, in their miserable existence, hadn’t had anything to unite them like discussing the kidnapping in many years. It was natural that they drowned the growling of their empty stomachs with speculation. 

“I heard he was taken by a dragon!” One matronly store clerk gossiped, betraying the usually more realistic standpoint that was common for such hopeless times.

“No, I heard he was thrown aboard a ship and taken to the Outer Lands,” a thin housewife argued, her starving children staring silently at them.

“What if he was just given a nice, warm meal, and taken back to Alderaan, where the harvests are always more plentiful,” a young street sweeper said dreamily, “What I wouldn’t give to be kidnapped like that.”

In the palace, the distraught Lady Organa was speaking with the Emperor, who was—for the first time anyone could remember—genuinely sympathetic. Lady Organa was holding back tears, although she tried not to show it. She knew her Emperor didn’t like displays of weakness.

“Oh, Ben!” she said, wringing her hands. “He’s a good lad, my Ben, never hurt a fly. Except, of course, in defense of Alderaan. And Exegol, of course!”

Emperor Sheev held up a hand, mentally grumbling about his wife’s insistence of a formal discussion of a courtship that was what got them—and Ben—into this mess in the first place.

“Quite so, Lady Organa,” he responded with an ersatz air of geniality. “I am sending my very best knights after your son. They’ll soon find him—or will be executed for their incompetence.”  
  
Lady Organa pursed her lips at such flippant talk of killing, but she nodded.  
Rey approached her father, hesitantly, after the nobles had left the throne room.

“Father, please let me ride with your knights,” she asked blatantly. 

Emperor Sheev was momentarily speechless at the audacity of her request.  
  
“Please, father,” Rey begged, sensing his uncertainty, “It was my fault he was left alone last night. While he’s a pompous idiot, I didn’t really want him to be kidnapped—or worse. Please let me help find him.”  
  
Emperor Sheev glowered at his daughter. “No,” he responded firmly. “Rey, your place is here, like a good princess. Once Ben is recovered, you will marry him and forsake such nonsense as galivanting around like some fucking commoner.”

Rey knew she shouldn’t press her father, not with that tone in his voice. He had made up his mind and she was a damn fool for continuing on the subject. But what if Ben died? It would be her fault, at least indirectly.  
Ben was a complete asshole, a disgrace. But Rey wasn’t an asshole herself and wanted to make things right.

Additionally, Ben was better looking that Rey was led to believe. She wouldn’t marry him in a hundred years, but she could stare at him for hours.

At first, she was even surprised he’d managed to be overpowered, what with his outrageous height and obvious strength.  
Rey shook her head. He was insufferable, she reminded herself. He’s also missing.  
  
Rey didn’t ask her father again, she just turned to leave the throne room. When she was almost through the large double doors, she muttered, “I don’t need you permission. I will go anyway, and there isn’t anything you can do to stop me.”

Whether her father heard her or not was unclear.  
If he did, he didn’t try to stop her.  
Rey hurried to the stables and saddled her horse, Falcon. She had already packed her bags that morning after breakfast, in anticipation of her father’s refusal.

Without a further word to anyone, she galloped over the drawbridge and away from the village.  
To where she was unsure. The kidnapper couldn’t have gotten far. Rey just had to find him.  
Or them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get some detail about Ben’s kidnappers; Rey sets out on her quest to find Ben.

—At least twenty kilometers away from the Hall of the Sith—

“I demand that you remove these bonds! You will show proper respect for a noble!”  
  
At this exclamation from his prisoner, Snoke reached into the back of the wagon and smacked the bound and Ben on the head. Hard. Hard enough to render Ben unconscious, or at least dazed.

“Quiet!” he snarled.  
  
Hux, who was driving the poor horse pulling the wagon glanced at him.  
“Is that really necessary?” he asked. 

Snoke glared at him.  
“It is because I say it is,” Snoke responded. “That thing was getting on my nerves.” 

Hux didn’t disagree.  
“Why do we need this one, again?” He asked again, a little more respectfully.

Snoke sighed. This wasn’t the first time he had had to explain the plan to his less mentally-coordinated minion.  
“Hux, we need this one because his parents are wealthy. Alderaan would be more than willing to pay a hefty sum for their little lord here.”

Hux nodded.  
“We’ll get him to Starkiller Tower and then we’ll demand our ransom.” Snoke continued.

Hux raised his hand, like he was a small child in a philosophy lesson. 

Snoke sniffed. “What is it?”

“What if they won’t pay?” Hux asked.

Snoke paused. “Then we’ll turn him. We could always use some muscle in our travels. He’s got some,” Snoke said.

It sounded like a joke, but Hux didn’t laugh. He’d made that mistake before, and he carried the scars as a reminder of it.  
Hux frowned. “What makes you think he’ll cooperate?”

Snoke smiled. On the disfigured, menacing man, it wasn’t an expression one would associate with happiness.  
“There are ways of making one cooperate.”

*******************************

As night fell, Rey began to look for a place to spend the night. She had ridden all day at a steady pace, only stopping twice to feed and water Falcon. She hadn’t eaten anything all day and was starving. Rey had decided to ride along the main road, to see if any villagers who lived nearby had noticed any strange people that had recently passed through. Word spread quickly from nosy villager to nosy villager, and there wasn’t a better place to get information than from such.  
Presently, Rey came upon a town that looked big enough to have an inn. Sure enough, in the center of the town was a taller building with a sign out front. Depicted on it was a picture of a glass of wine and a platter. On it was written: “The Takodana: Best Ale Around”.  
Rey mentally prepared herself for a greasy meal and a flea-ridden mattress. 

“Well, boy,” she said to her horse, “This is the best it is going to get tonight.”  
  
Rey led Falcon to the ramshackle stables leaning against the tavern wall. She fed and watered him and made sure he was comfortable before going inside to attend to her own hunger. As she entered the tavern, she blinked to let her eyes adjust to the dim light.

“Shut the door, girl!” A small, tanned woman appeared from behind a door that Rey guessed led to the kitchen.

Rey quickly stepped away from the front door and it shut loudly.

“Welcome to The Takodana, what’ll it be, girl?” the woman asked, a little more warmly.

Rey was wearing an old black cloak to partially disguise herself, but she guessed that even without it, the innkeeper probably wouldn’t recognize her. She pushed the hood down.

“Hello, ma’am. I’d like supper and a bed for the night,” she said in a slightly higher pitch than her normal low timbre. To allay suspicion, she also replaced her curated Exegol accent for a rougher, more common cadence. The innkeeper nodded.

“I’ve got rooms. It’s four credits a night, and for supper, I’ve got lamb stew or lamb with rice. Your pick.”

Rey chose the stew, which cost two credits. There were only a few customers, mostly farmers who had been trading in the town all day and just came in for a drink before heading home to their farms. Rey nodded greetings to everyone and chose a table near the back. A kitchen hand came with her food a few minutes later. Rey thanked him and dug in vigorously. The stew was surprisingly delicious, and there was a large chunk of bread that came with it. When she had finished Rey asked the innkeeper to show her to her room. Exhausted, she crashed onto the threadbare sheets and fell right asleep with her boots on, not even bothering to check for mice.  
  
***********************************

In the morning, Rey emerged from her room and sat at a table. The innkeeper came to get her order for breakfast. Rey ordered hot oat porridge and coffee. As she ate, she surveyed the tavern around her. Five men came in and ordered breakfast, but they paid little to no attention to her.   
In her surveillance, Rey noticed with a pang of guilt that everyone seemed so much more…fed, and content, than the people in the village near her own home. Rey was aware that her father taxed them heavily, but she never had other villages to compare theirs to. It made her uncomfortable to realize that she was, in a way, contributing to their misery.

Rey clenched her jaw and resolved to address that problem once she had solved the one in front her.  
When she resumed her perusal of the tavern, something caught her attention. There were two men sitting at the very back of the room. While this was normal enough, what wasn’t normal was their behavior. They ate quickly and kept looking up suspiciously. Their eyes darted around the room for a few seconds before they resumed their hurried eating. They were both silent and didn’t speak to each other at all.   
  
The tallest of the men looked quite nervous, and even though he was sitting down Rey could tell he was much taller than the other man in his company. The shorter man was odd-looking, with a long scar on his face and a strange, spotty complexion to his face.  
Rey had been waiting for the smallest sign that she was on the right track, any minute hint of where to go next. The odd men and their odd habits were something, so she decided they deserved a closer look.   
  
Rey finished her breakfast a minute or so before the men.  
When the duo got up to leave, Rey discreetly rose as well and went to pay the innkeeper for her meal. The men walked right past her and out the door. Rey waited one moment before she followed. She emerged from the tavern just in time to see a wagon racing away in a cloud of dust.  
  
If you had asked Rey later what made her follow the wagon, she wouldn’t have been able to tell you. Some sense, some instinct told her it was the right move.  
She raced to saddle Falcon without taking a second to think about it at all. Her horse was fully rested and ready to continue. The wagon was nearly out of sight by then, but Rey had seen which way they had gone. The wagon had left clouds of dust behind that were slow to disperse. She followed them at a pace just short of a gallop.  
Rey caught up to them ten minutes later. She stayed at least fifty paces behind the wagon, but she was relatively confident that since they were on the main road, the occupants of the wagon wouldn’t think they were being followed. When she squinted, Rey could make out a large heap in the back of the wagon, bound with ropes. Rey got excited. She felt sure that it was Ben. It was certainly big enough.

She was glad, to say the least, that she had listened to whatever instinct made her follow the wagon.  
  
Two hours later, Ben’s kidnappers stopped, presumably for lunch. Rey continued riding her horse forward without stopping, and when she could no longer see them behind her, she ducked into the trees to wait. The wagon came along before long—the kidnappers must habitually be fast eaters—and Rey resumed her place behind them. She rode a little further back this time, in case either of the kidnappers got nervous for some reason and glanced back for pursuers.  
Contrary to their behavior in the tavern that morning, however, the kidnappers seemed to be quite confident that they were in the clear. They continued to travel through the rest of the afternoon.

Early that evening, they arrived at a tower.

When the wagon stopped, Rey rode Falcon into the woods alongside the road. The kidnappers got out and with no small difficulty, seized the tied lump in the back of the wagon. They pulled it, or rather, him, over to the tower and unlocked the door. Ben must have been unconscious or something, for otherwise it would be much more of a chore to move him. All three disappeared inside. Ten minutes later, only two came out.  
They jumped into the wagon again and rattled back down the road.

*************************************

Once Rey thought they were well and truly gone, at least for the moment, she crept up to the tower and gawked at the height. In the dim light of dusk, it looked nightmarish and haunting, somehow more evil than the palace in Exegol.

It must be as tall or taller than the Hall of the Sith’s highest turret, Rey thought.  
  
She tried the thick wooden door. Locked, of course. Rey went to fetch her pack, and after rummaging around for a bit in the hastily packed and unorganized bag, she pulled out a small leather satchel. In it were Rey’s set of lock-picks.

It was highly irregular for a princess to carry lock picks with her, so Rey kept them a secret.  
She inserted into the lock two picks she thought would fit best in this particular lock. She fiddled, jostled, and jiggled the picks around until she felt each of the three tumblers give and finally, the lock clicked open. The door opened, and Rey saw right in front of her a spiral staircase. She rushed back to her horse and buckled on her lightweight saber before proceeding, though. The weapon made her feel more secure. She had been practicing for over a year in secret with Luke, the palace weapons master. She wanted to be able to handle herself in a fight, and she was a natural, or so Luke informed her.

Rey ascended the stairs slowly and silently. The stairs seemed to go on forever, spiraling to the right in the classic architectural style, meant to dissuade attackers from ascending. Warriors with swords, at least right-handed ones, climbing up had to expose their whole bodies in order to use their swords, while defenders only exposed their arms. Rey didn’t even notice she had reached the top until she found herself in front of another door. This one was also locked, but with a much simpler lock since, instead of being there to keep people out, this one was supposed to keep someone in. Rey unlocked it much faster than she had the one downstairs. The door creaked as it swung inward. There, in the corner of the small, dark room, she could see a gagged and bound Ben. He looked cramped, shoved up against the wall awkwardly with his ridiculously long limbs splayed.  
  
Rey cut him loose as quickly as she could—with Ben occasionally muttering, “Be careful!”  
For the most part, however, he remained blessedly silent. Finally, she had cut through all the ropes. Before they could scramble for the exit, however, Ben grabbed Rey’s arm and looked her in the eyes. Rey stared back, enthralled by the warmth and depth to his beautiful eyes that wasn’t there the last time she’d looked.

“Thanks,” he said simply. It was enough, and Rey felt any previous anger toward him starting to fade.

“We’d better go,” Rey said quickly, and Ben released her.

The two hurried toward the door and rushed down the staircase.  
They were about halfway down when they heard hurried footsteps coming up.

The kidnappers were back.

Rey drew her saber and darted in front of Ben. He protested, but he had no weapon and Rey looked ready for a fight, so he was forced to stay back. He didn’t seem happy about it, and Rey wasn’t sure if it was because she was a girl, or because he genuinely cared. She didn’t have time to dwell on it.

Rey saw the shorter man from the tavern first. He was purple with rage, and he charged at Rey with a growl and swung a long-bladed dirk at her. Rey parried quickly and kicked at the man’s knee. Her foot connected, and the man snarled in pain.

“You are going to regret that, imp!”

But he still came at Rey. He swung her blade again and again, growing angrier. Rey deflected each stroke.

“You shouldn’t kidnap people!” Rey gasped, a bit winded.

“What I do is none of your business, urchin!” the man replied, also growing breathless. “Give up now and I will let you go, but my prisoner stays!”

While she deflected the man’s cuts, she couldn’t help but consider it. She didn’t owe Ben anything. If anything, she had given him an opportunity. If she let now, he could easily overpower the two men and follow her.

Rey discarded the idea. She’d come this far. And Ben had been really grateful a moment ago. Rey would be lying if his quiet word didn’t send thrills down her spine and make her legs weak.

Where had that come from? She wasn’t a simpering princess.

Getting desperate to escape, Rey suddenly launched an attack of her own. Rey saw an opening and thrust at the man’s knife arm, slicing to the bone. The man shrieked, dropping the knife and cradling his heavily bleeding arm. Rey and Ben took advantage of this and ran past him, knocking he other man behind him down. He tumbled down several stairs, head over heels.

Rey and Ben emerged from the tower at full speed, or at least Rey was. Ben must have sustained some injury to his head, because though he ran as fast as he could, he stumbled and blinked several times.  
They ran for the spot where Falcon patiently waited, still saddled and ready to go. When they got to Falcon, Ben stopped.

“I want you to know, I’ve had a lot of time to think,” he said, taking Rey’s chin in his hand and tilting her head up. 

Rey couldn’t breathe. Her heart pounded, and though the adrenaline from her fight was still coursing through her, her legs would not move.

“I was…a complete jackass to you the other night, and I…” Ben sighed, and hung his head. “I’m sorry.”

He looked hopefully at Rey. 

She swallowed. “Um,” she tried to speak, but words wouldn’t come out of her throat, which had gone dry, either from exertion or nerves. Or both.

“You saved me,” Ben said quietly, still looking at her.

Rey managed a glance behind her.  
“We aren’t out of the woods yet,” she said, able to talk with a change in the subject.

She broke away and swung into Falcon’s saddle. With a slight hesitation, Ben hopped on behind her. Rey was worried for a moment that Falcon wouldn’t be able to carry both of them, but the large horse didn’t even shuffle his hooves.

The taller man, still looking slightly befuddled from when Ben had knocked him over, emerged from the tower, staggering a bit, yelling at them to stop.

“Hey! You two! Come back here!”

Rey dug her heels into Falcon’s side and her horse sprang into a gallop.  
Hux had hopped onto the old wagon horse’s back and tried to get it to run after them. The poor animal was still hitched to the heavy wagon, but it tried its best.

But its best was simply not good enough. It was exhausted, having been stolen two weeks previously and not given adequate rest since then. It collapsed on the ground within the first few meters, finished. 

Rey and Ben soon pulled far ahead.

Rey breathed a sigh of relief when they were out of sight of the tower and Hux. Smiling with satisfaction at a mission accomplished, Rey set her course for Exegol.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> As you might be able to tell, I am a bit of an old-fashion swordplay enthusiast! However, I’m not an expert in the subject so if there are any errors in this chapter or in the ones to follow (yep, there may be some more sword fighting, yay!) I apologise. I’m kinda obsessed with swords and fencing but that does NOT mean I know what I’m talking about!  
> Anyway, hoped you liked this chapter and I’ll be posting again tomorrow!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning—This chapter contains smut.   
> Ben’s super grateful and Rey’s kinda lonely. Plus, they REALLY need a stress-reliever.  
> So yeah, just a heads-up. Smut ahead.

Snoke pulled the bandage he was wrapping around her arm tight. He secured it and stood from the step upon which he had been resting. He was furious, livid, and couldn’t believe he had let the little girl best him in Snoke’s strongest skill. Hux stumbled into the tower, a bump already forming on his head. 

“They got away,” Hux said unnecessarily.

Snoke just grunted. He’d unleash his anger on his underling later when his arm didn’t hurt so much, and they resolved this hiccup. He waited for Hux to say more, then realized he wasn’t usually capable of forming cognitive ideas on his own, at least ones that made any sense. 

“We have to get them back—the girl too, this time,” Snoke stated mechanically. He had planned this for over a year, and now, it seemed, he may just have to let it all go down the drain. He couldn’t let that happen.  
Although, he had one more ace up his sleeve.   
A very unpredictable, dangerous ace.

Snoke turned to his minion.

“Hux, get the dragon.”

***********************************

Rey decided to ride through the night to get home by midday. She hadn’t brought any food with her, save a small bag of grain and an apple or two for her horse, so the two of them stopped briefly at a tiny eating house on the outskirts of the major town in that area. Rey paid for some bread and cheese and hot sausages for them to quell their hunger. Ben hadn’t said anything since they left the tower, and Rey was glad for the silence. It allowed her to think.   
Should she accept his apology? Was it really that simple, for him to have just changed all of a sudden, just like that?

She really wanted to believe him, she did.

Rey wasn’t one for holding onto grudges; but Ben had really made her angry the way he spoke to her, and the way he just assumed she’d assent to being married off to him.

Now, she realized with a jolt and a hint of embarrassment, she didn’t really mind the idea anymore.  
Was she really that shallow, that she would give up her freedom for a pretty pair of brown eyes?

Ben seemed to sense her unease.  
“Are you all right?” he asked, and Rey became acutely aware of his large hands wrapped around her waist.

She nodded stiffly.

Ben didn’t buy it. “If you’re still worried, I think we’re in the clear. Seriously, you can relax now.”

Rey bit her lip. “Okay,” she said, not wanting to reveal what she was actually thinking about.

Ben was silent for a moment, then he spoke in a rush. “Look, I said I was sorry before, and I meant it. You didn’t have to come after me and yet you did, for some reason. I can’t really express adequate thanks, Rey. If you want, I’ll tell my parents to back off on the arranged marriage thing, I will.”

A slight wave of fear went over Rey at the thought. While she could have made an excuse and say it was because Exegol needed the money, she didn’t.

She wanted to believe Ben, so she drew a breath and did.  
“We’ll talk more about that later, if you don’t mind. But for what it’s worth, I…I forgive you, Ben.” She said.

She felt Ben let out a sigh of relief. “It’s worth a lot, thank you.”

They were both silent for a while, then Ben spoke up, in a much lighter tone.  
“Where did you learn to fight like that? I mean, you were seriously badass.”

Rey blushed. “Thanks. I’ve been taking lessons from our weapons master.”

Ben chuckled. “Did you see that guy’s face when you kicked him? As much as I would have liked to do that myself, it was almost as good as a payback.”

They chuckled at that, then once again lapsed into a comfortable silence.

Rey felt something niggling at her, and when she remembered what it was, she had to say it.  
“Look, Ben,” she said, twisting in the saddle to look at him, “I’m sorry for leaving you like that the other night. If I hadn’t…”

Ben placed his finger over her mouth, and the contact made Rey’s stomach flip.  
“Don’t. Chances are, you would have just been taken too. And I would never have stood for that.”

Rey smiled against Ben’s finger and raised an eyebrow.  
“Is that so?” she teased.

Ben’s eyes darkened, and Rey’s hands tightened on the reins.  
“Yes,” was all he said, but his tone was thick with meaning.

Rey’s eyes drifted to his lips, his full, luscious lips that only two days before had been spewing insults at her.

She didn’t care. Rey leaned forward, raised herself in the stirrups slightly, and brushed her own lips against his.  
Ben looked shocked, and for a moment he was paralyzed. Rey blushed and turned back sullenly to face forward, but Ben cupped her face in his hands and turned her back toward him.

He kissed her back fiercely, with a fervor that said everything he already put words to. How he was heart-wrenchingly sorry, how he was astronomically grateful, how he wished she would agree to go along with the arrange marriage.

Rey kissed him back, and when his tongue brushed along her top lips she opened her mouth, letting him in.  
Ben deepened the kiss, making Rey’s head spin and causing her core to throb.

She pulled back, breathless, only to say, “We should probably get off the horse,” and Ben nodded drunkenly.

Rey pulled on the reins and they slid off, Ben catching Rey in his arms. She grabbed Ben’s hand, smiling at him, and pulled Falcon to the side of the road.

She had hardly finished tethering him to a tree when Ben scooped her up and laid his lips along her jaw, her temple, and neck.  
Rey moaned involuntarily as his lips brushed her collarbone, and the sound made Ben stumble. They sprawled on the grass, and Rey was the first to recover, and she rolled over to the still-prone Ben, straddling him and kissing him as he did her, running her lips reverently along his jaw. Before she was finished, Ben grabbed her waist and flipped her so he was on top, his long arms caging her in.

He kissed her deeply, and Rey suddenly felt too warm, like the sun had moved closer and was beating down directly on them. She struggled, grasping at the hem of her tunic to pull it up. Ben seized on this new task, breaking the kiss only to rip her shirt from her shoulders. Rey didn’t like wearing layers of clothing, and as the weather was warm, all she wore underneath her tunic was a breast binding, a new style Empress Amilyn said was all the rage in the South. Rey didn’t care about fashion; it was comfortable and allowed her to run effortlessly.

She reached up to slowly undo it, and Ben swallowed.  
Once she had cast away the garment, Rey felt a little insecure. Although she’d never confess this to her parents, as a rebellious princess she’d had her share of lovers, but each one had been one-night stands, neither Rey nor her partner paying much attention to one another.

As a princess, everyone around Rey claimed she was beautiful; she never received anyone’s honest opinion. Everyone under her wanted to curry favor and Rey had never had a real friend.  
She had no idea whether she was pretty or not, and at the realization that she was bare before Ben, a man she hardly knew, Rey felt self-conscious. She started to raise her arms to cover herself, but Ben stopped her.

“You. Are. Beautiful,” Ben breathed, and he lowered his mouth to kiss her breasts. It felt so good, and Rey arched her back.

Ben caressed each nipple, and then worked his way down to her navel.  
He didn’t stop there, though.

He tugged down Rey’s leggings and undergarments, and Rey felt cool air on her lips.

“What—” she started to ask, but Ben silenced her by running his tongue along her slit, causing firework to dance before Rey’s eyes.

“You saved me,” Ben murmured against her, “now let me do something for you.”

He kissed the inside of her thighs before returning to his original spot. His tongue found her clit and a hot burst of pleasure shot through Rey. She let out a partially-muffled scream and arched her back further.

Ben’s tongue continued to work her clit, and when he slid a finger inside her, Rey felt like she was going to fall.  
“I—” she gasped.

“I know,” Ben murmured. He inserted another finger, and crooked them just so, and Rey fell over the edge. She came with a series of alternating screams of pleasure and moans of Ben’s name.

She collapsed into the grass, breathing hard and staring wonderingly at Ben, who smiled.

“How…where…” Rey asked, panting. None of the men she’d ben with had ever been able to make her come like that.  
Ben smiled sheepishly.   
Rey grabbed him by the collar of his tunic and tugged. Ben took the message and pulled it off.  
Rey’s eyes widened.

“You’re like…one of those statues in the garden or something,” Rey breathed, and Ben chuckled.  
She ran her hands over the smooth, perfect planes of Ben’s chest and abdomen.

“Your turn,” Rey whispered.

“My turn…?” Ben asked, confused.

Rey reached for the top of his trousers.  
“Take them off,” she ordered.

Ben chuckled. “Yes, my lady,” he said mockingly, but the honorific ignited Rey. She hated being called that, but something in Ben’s tone made her not mind it.

At all.

Ben pushed his trousers off, followed by his undergarments.  
Rey licked her lips at the sight of him.  
Her lovers had been decent, even average, but Ben…  
She was worried for a minute if he was going to fit.

“Are you sure?” Ben asked, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

Rey didn’t think she’s be able to stop herself if she wasn’t but she nodded and Ben crawled forward, positioning himself over her.  
Rey nodded again and Ben eased himself into her, allowing her to adjust.

It was pure heaven.

At Rey’s moans, Ben thrust himself into her deeper, and Rey pulled her knees back for a better angle. They both moaned at the position, and Ben began to thrust again, building up a rhythm that had Rey swimming in color and bliss.

Ben seemed to feel the same, because his thrusts became faster and faster, until Rey felt like she was going to explode with ecstasy.  
One more thrust and Rey came undone again, crying out Ben’s name.  
Ben was soon to follow, collapsing beside her, his body shaking with aftershock.

They lay side by side, catching their breath, until Rey’s eyes eventually drifting shut.   
Before she fell asleep, she managed to mutter, “Don’t ask your parents to reconsider,” and she slept.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snoke rallies for a final attempt to defeat Ben and Rey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last one!  
> Hoped you liked it!

Rey bolted upright. How long had she been sleeping? It was dark, and Rey could hardly make out Falcon’s form, still tethered and waiting patiently. He must have been so uncomfortable, with the cinch still clasped tight, but he wasn’t complaining.

Rey cast her eyes around for Ben, but she couldn’t see him. She quickly dressed herself, moving slower than usual on account of the pleasant soreness she felt, and grabbed Falcon’s reins. She ran back to the spot where…she’d been with Ben and searched the surrounding area.  
The moon had set some time ago, but she soon recognized Ben’s large form easily. She walked over to him and prodded his leg with her boot.

A grunt of protest sounded from the lump. 

“Ben, get up,” Rey said. “I want to sleep too, but we have to keep going.”  
  
Another grunt, although this one was louder and didn’t seem to have come from Ben...

“RUN!” Rey yelled. Ben got to his feet as soon as he could, not knowing what had caused her to use that tone. 

Then, he saw the huge, orange eyes that undoubtedly belonged to something much bigger than he and decided that running was a very good idea.

He fled, running as fast as his long legs could carry him. Rey, as fast as she was, had trouble keeping up with him. Ben noticed and slowed slightly so he wouldn’t leave her behind. They had no time to mount Falcon, but even on the horse, they would not have been able to outrun a dragon. 

The two felt a strong whoosh of air as the dragon emerged from its hiding place and erupted into the air. Rey chanced a glance behind her and saw someone was...riding on it? 

“Duck!” Rey yelled at Ben, who dropped to the ground. The dragon dove for them, but missed and roared overhead, and promptly slammed into a nearby oak tree.  
Its rider fell to the ground, moaning in pain but also cursing the dragon for their crash.

Rey rose to her feet slowly, drawing her sword for the second time in two days.   
With a start, she recognized the dragon’s rider as they reoriented themselves.  
It was the man Rey had fought in the tower.  
“Come for another round?” Rey yelled, antagonising.

“And where on earth did you get the dragon?” Ben murmured.

Snoke growled at them. He stumbled toward them he drew his long-bladed dirk. He noticed that Rey had once more darted in front of Ben, who was clearly much larger than her.

“You just let the girl fight all your battles for you?” Snoke goaded.

Ben snarled with rage, and stepped forward, but Rey sent him a steely look that made him sigh and relent. “Sometimes,” he responded, “especially when she could beat the fuck out of scum like you.”

Snoke roared and swung his blade at him, but Rey batted it away with her saber like it was a twig.

To distract her, Snoke yelled at his dragon, “Plagueis! Get the prisoner!”  
The dragon dove forward and tossed Ben onto his back like Ben weighed nothing.  
Suddenly, the dragon felt something slam into its head from behind. It knew nothing more.

Rey dropped the next rock she’d quickly picked up, in case the first hadn’t worked. She’d never tried to knock out a dragon before, but a story spinner who had come through Exeggol had told her once that all dragons had a soft spot a few inches behind and above their left eye. 

Apparently, he was right.

Ben slid off the dragon less gracefully then he would have liked.  
“Thanks!” Ben said, clearly annoyed at his own uselessness thus far.

Rey had no time to answer. Snoke was, for the second time, coming at her.

Since they had fought before, and rather recently, Rey knew Snoke’s fighting style and it was easier to fend him off.

With the background sounds of Ben urging her on, Rey batted Snoke’s knife away time and time again.

Rey didn’t want to kill Snoke, but they needed to leave before the dragon woke, and Snoke wasn’t making it easy for her to go easy on her, so with a final parry, Rey swung her saber around and slammed her hilt into Snoke’s head. It hit him hard, and Snoke folded in on himself, dropping to the ground like a stone.

“I’m sorry, I meant to tell you earlier,” Rey said sarcastically to her unconscious opponent. “I really like your knife.”

Rey and Ben hurried back to Falcon, who was a bit spooked by the appearance of the dragon, but Rey soothed him and they both mounted and galloped away. 

“That was magnificent, Rey,” Ben whispered in her ear.  
  
Rey shrugged and tried to brush him off.

“No, seriously,” Ben insisted, “When we get back, I’m going to get you to give me some pointers.”

Rey nodded. “Okay,” she agreed.

They rode Falcon hard, wanting to make up for lost time.

Rey was starting to recognize some of the scenery when she heard Ben’s voice in her ear again.

“Did you mean what you said earlier, before you fell asleep?” he asked.

Rey bit her lip.

“About me not asking my parents to reconsider?” Ben elaborated, in case she didn’t know what he meant.

Rey knew.  
“Yeah, I meant it,” she said, in an equally low voice.

Ben was silent, but Rey could practically feel the smile stretching across Ben’s face.

“You’ll go along with marrying me?” he asked, his pitch going up slightly.

Rey laughed.  
“Why not? It’s going to take a really long time to show you how to use a sword properly.” She teased. 

Ben didn’t take offense; he DID just ask her for pointers.

He just laughed with her and couldn’t help being grateful that he had been kidnapped.

It got him the girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for making Ben so helpless these past chapters...the poor thing. Normally, I would try to make their workload as equal as possible. This didn’t end up happening this time clearly. There are two reasons—Ben doesn’t have a sword or any of his things with him, and while we all know Ben can do a lot without a blade, I decided against a fistfight.  
> Second reason: I’m super lazy and wrote the whole fic in the ungodly hours of the morning. I didn’t feel like extra writing, so...  
> There you go.
> 
> For any questions related (or non-related) to this story, having to do with swordplay or what have you, You can leave me a comment or come talk to me on Twitter @emma_reylo
> 
> Well, thanks for reading!


End file.
